Body fluid drainage bag

ABSTRACT

A drainage bag including a limp fluid receptacle portion and a stiffer header secured to the upper edge of the receptacle portion. The header is integrally formed with a drip chamber, and may also be formed with an air vent, a carrying and suspension hole, and stiffener ridges.

I United States Patent 1151 3,661,153

Polk et al. 1 May 9, 1972 541 BODY FLUID DRAINAGE BAG 3,343,542 9/ 1967Ericson ..12s 275 3,253,593 5/1966 Cronin, Jr 128/275 [72] Inventors:Edgwin R. Polk, Fords, N.J.; Sidney Polan- 3 537 109 1 1 1970 -i et L 2275 X y Great qk, N- Louis Mirando, 3,537,455 11/1970 Skyles et a]. 128275 pp Saddle Rlver. 3,568,965 3 1971 Clark 128/275 x [73] Asslgnee:Packagmg Assoclmes Primary Examiner-Charles F. Rosenbaum [22] Filed:Mar. 27, 1970 Attorney-Ralph T. Lilore A drainage bag including a limpfluid receptacle portion and a U.S. tiffer header ecured to the upperedge of the receptacle p01. [5 l Int. Cl. "A6" 5/44 Th h ad r is i trally formed with a drip chamber, and Field of Search-N l 1310- 24 mayalso be formed with an air vent, a carrying and suspension hole, andstiffener ridges.

[56] References Cited 7 Cla1ms, 3 Drawing Frgures UNITED STATES PATENTSFolkman et al 128/275 PATENTEDMAY 9 I972 3,661,153

INVENTORS: Eoewm R. POLK S\DNEY POLANSKY LQUPS NHRAMDO ATTO R N EYS BODYFLUID DRAINAGE BAG This invention relates to a body fluid drainageapparatus, such as is used to accumulate fluids drained from a patientafter a surgical operation.

At the present time, such apparatus constitutes an assembly of manyindividual parts, namely a receptacle, a drip chamber through which thefluid enters the receptacle from a drainage tube connected to thepatients body, an anti-bacterial air vent, a carrying handle, a meansfor rigidly suspending the apparatus, and means for attaching all theseelements together. Such conventional apparatus is time consuming andexpensive to assemble, and is subject to coming apart, with attendantinconvenience and even danger to the patient. Another problem whicharises is that the drip chamber, connected to the receptacle by aflexible tube sometimes turns over so that its upper end connected tothe drainage tubing falls below its lower end connected to thereceptacle.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these problems byproviding a body fluid drainage bag incorporating some or all the aboveelements of a drainage apparatus into a single unit. As a result, a bagcan be provided which need only be assembled with a length of drainagetubing to complete the drainage system. Furthermore, the bag of thisinvention can readily be manufactured in quantity at low cost, andavoids all danger of parts coming apart, or becoming disoriented, duringuse.

Additional objects and features of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description in which reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a body fluiddrainage bag according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, takenon line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a generally vertical cross-sectional view, on an enlargedscale, taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

The drainage bag chosen to illustrate the present invention comprises areceptacle portion and a header 11 joined to the upper end of thereceptacle portion. Receptacle portion 10 comprises two plies of sheetmaterial preferably a suitable plastic, constituting opposed walls 12and 13 of the receptacle. The walls are joined together along their sideand bottom edges, such as by heat sealing. The material of the walls 12and 13 is suitably limp so that they can spread to accommodate the fluidwhich accumulates in the receptacle portion 10. Near one of its lowercorners, wall 12 is provided with an outlet opening communicating withan outlet tube 14 through which the bag may be emptied. During periodswhen the bag is not being emptied, its free end 15 is inserted into aninverted cuplike holder 16 carried on the exterior of wall 12.

Header 11, in the present example, comprises two pieces of sheetmaterial 20 and 21, preferably a suitable plastic, joined together, asby heat sealing, in face-to-face relation. I-Ieader elements 20 and 21are stiffer than receptacle walls 12 and 13 so that they form aself-supporting, relatively rigid upper region of the bag. Headerelements 20 and 21 are furnished, as by vacuum forming, with portions ofcomponents of the drainage system, these components thereby beingintegral wit the header 11. The header elements 20 and 21 constitute twomatching halves of the header, each half being the mirror image of theother.

Each header half 20 and 21 is formed with a relatively large generallysemi-cylindrical portion 22 joined at its upper and lower ends bysmaller semi-cylindrical portions 23 and 24.

The two portions 22 together form a drip chamber which communicates,through the tube formed by portions 23, with the interior of receptacle12, and through the tube, formed by portions 24, with a length ofdrainage tubing (not shown). The tube formed by portions 24 terminatesin a standard shape (not shown) suitable for connection to a length ofdrainage tubing. The header halves, or at least the drip chamberportions thereof. are preferably formed of transparent material so thatthe flow within the drip chamber can be viewed.

Each header half 20 and 21 is also formed with a semi-circular orsemi-rectangular channel 25 serving as an air vent for the interior ofthe receptacle 12. The lower end 26 of the air vent communicates withthe interior of receptacle 12, the vent follows the tortuous path shown,and terminates at its other end in a chamber 27 open to the atmospherethrough hole 28. The header halves 20 and 21 are also provided withregistering elongated holes 31 which serve as a hand hole in the headerthrough which the fingers can pass when carrying the drainage bag, andby means of which the bag can be suspended from some support when inuse.

The drip chamber, tube, and air vent portions 22, 23, 24, and 25 addstiffness to the header 11 since they project out of the planes ofheader halves 20 and 21. Additional stiffness may be provided byfurnishing stiffener ridges, such as ridges 32 along the borders of theheader, ridges 33 around holes 31, and ridges 34 between holes 31 andthe drip chamber 22, 22. The rectangular area defined by ridges 34 is aconvenient location to place a trademark of the bag manufacturer.

To give the header added stiffness, one or both of the side walls 12 and13 of the receptacle may extend between the header halves 20 and 21. Inthe illustrated example, the upper end of wall 12 extends upwardlybeyond the upper edge of wall 13, and between the header halves. Theportions of wall 12 which register with holes 31, drip chamber and tubeportions 22 and 24, and chamber portions 27 are removed prior toassembly of the parts, so that the wall does not interfere with theoperation of these parts. All the flat areas of each header half, i.e.,those areas not extending out of the plane of the header half, are heatsealed to the upper portion of wall 12. In addition, the upper edge ofwall 13 is heat sealed to the lower edge of the header half21 (see FIG.3), as well as to the wall 12. Furthermore, the interiors of the headerportions 23 and 26 are heat sealed to their respective receptacle walls12 and 13.

It will be appreciated that the drainage bag of the present inventioncan readily be produced by vacuum forming, die cutting, and heat sealingoperations, all of which can be carried out on a mass production basis.Furthermore, each bag constitutes a complete unitary drainage system,except for the drainage tubing, and since the drip chamber 22, 22 formsan integral part of the stiflheader, it cannot become disoriented.

Although it is preferred that the header be formed with all the featuresdescribed above, since in that way the low manufacturing and assemblycost benefit of the invention is most pronounced as compared withconventional systems, under some circumstances it may be desirable toform only the drip chamber in the header, and provide the other featuresseparately, or to 'form the drip chamber and certain of the featuresmentioned above in the header, and the remaining features separately.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, andby way of example, and many variations may be made in the inventionwhich will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood,therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form orembodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A body fluid drainage bag, comprising a receptacle, formed of twosheets of limp material sealed along their edges, within which bodyfluid is accumulated, and a header formed of two sheets of stiffermaterial sealed together and secured to one side of said receptacle withthe adjacent edge of said receptacle sandwiched between the two headersheets, said header sheets being two matching halves of said header witheach half being the mirror image of the other and having at least onedepression formed therein, said depressions being complementary to eachother and defining an integral drip chamber in said header forcommunicating at one end with the interior of said receptacle andattachable at its other end to a length of drainage tubing.

2. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said headeris also formed integrally with a through hole adapted to receive thefingers of a hand for carrying the bag and to receive hanger means forsuspending the bag when in use.

3. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 2 wherein said headerincludes integrally formed stifiner ridges thereon.

4. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein at least thedrip chamber portion of said header is formed of transparent material.

5. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein saidreceptacle portion and header are formed of plastic and joined togetherby a heat seal.

6. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 5 wherein the end ofone of said receptacle sheets sandwiched between said header sheetsextends beyond the edge of the other of said receptacle sheets and isheat sealed between said header valves, thereby giving the header addedstiffness, with the edge of the other of said receptacle sheet heatsealed between said header sheets at the edge thereof adjacent saidreceptacle.

7. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said headersheets include complementary channels extending along a tortuous path insaid header, said channels cooperating to define an air vent passagetherebetween communicating at one end with the interior of saidreceptacle and at its other end with the atmosphere through an aperturein one of said header sheets.

1. A body fluid drainage bag, comprising a receptacle, formed of twosheets of limp material sealed along their edges, within which bodyfluid is accumulated, and a header formed of two sheets of stiffermaterial sealed together and secured to one side of said receptacle withthe adjacent edge of said receptacle sandwiched between the two headersheets, said header sheets being two matching halves of said header witheach half being the mirror image of the other and having at least onedepression formed therein, said depressions being complementary to eachother and defining an integral drip chamber in said header forcommunicating at one end with the interior of said receptacle andattachable at its other end to a length of drainage tubing.
 2. A bodyfluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein said header is alsoformed integrally with a through hole adapted to receive the fingers ofa hand for carrying the bag and to receive hanger means for suspendingthe bag when in use.
 3. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 2wherein said header includes integrally formed stiffner ridges thereon.4. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein at least thedrip chamber portion of said header is formed of transparent material.5. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 1 wherein saidreceptacle portion and header are formed of plastic and joined togetherby a heat seal.
 6. A body fluid drainage bag as defined in claim 5wherein the end of one of said receptacle sheets sandwiched between saidheader sheets extends beyond the edge of the other of said receptaclesheets and is heat sealed between said header valves, thereby giving theheader added stiffness, with the edge of the other of said receptaclesheet heat sealed between said header sheets at the edge thereofadjacent said receptacle.
 7. A body fluid drainage bag as defined inclaim 1 wherein said header sheets include complementary channelsextending along a tortuous path in said header, said channelscooperating to define an air vent passage therebetween communicating atone end with the interior of said receptacle and at its other end withthe atmosphere through an aperture in one of said header sheets.